朝鮮向海域試射導彈

South Korean military officials say North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into the ocean off its eastern coast.

The U.S. military said it detected two simultaneous missile launches, one was successful and the other exploded immediately after launch.

Officials say the missile, believed to be a medium-range Rodong missile, was fired just before 8 a.m. Wednesday from Unyul in the country's western Hwanghae province and flew about 1,000 kilometers before landing in or close to Japanese waters.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the missile launch a "grave threat" to Japan's security and expressed strong objections to the North's continued ballistic missile aspirations.

The United States immediately responded to the test Wednesday, warning the North Koreans that it is ready to defend itself and its allies from any provocation.

North Korea is seeking to develop a warhead small enough to be placed on a long-range missile that can reach the continental United States. But South Korean defense officials say Pyongyang does not yet have such a miniaturized warhead.韓國軍方官員說，朝鮮向東部海域發射了一枚彈道導彈。

美國軍方說，他們監測到朝鮮同時發射了兩枚導彈，一枚發射成功，另一枚發射後即刻爆炸。

有關官員說，試射的導彈據信是中程“蘆洞”導彈，星期三上午接近8點時從朝鮮西部黃海南道殷慄郡發射，導彈飛行大約1000公里後在進入或是接近日本海域後落入海中。

日本首相安倍晉三稱這次導彈試射是對日本安全的重大威脅，對朝鮮繼續研發導彈技術提出強烈反對。

美國星期三也立即作出迴應，警告朝鮮說，美國面對挑釁，隨時準備保護自己及其盟友。

朝鮮正在努力使其核彈頭小型化，以便可以裝載到可以打到美國本土的遠程導彈上。但是韓國國防官員說，平壤目前還沒有研製成功小型核彈頭。